1/8/14 12:53 PM EST

Gabriel Sherman, the author of a highly anticipated biography of Roger Ailes, is hitting back at the Fox News chief's assertion that Sherman and his publisher did not fact-check the book prior to its publication.

"During two and a half years of reporting, I made a dozen requests both in writing and in person to speak with Roger Ailes about every aspect of my book, The Loudest Voice in the Room," Sherman told POLITICO in a statement. "A team of two fact-checkers spent more than 2,000 hours vetting the manuscript before publication. Roger Ailes declined every request to discuss the reporting with me."

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, conducted in December and published on Wednesday, Ailes criticized Sherman and Random House for not fact-checking the book's content with Fox News.

"Bette Davis said, I think it was Bette Davis, ‘What other people think of me is none of my business,’" Ailes said when asked about the book. "Attacking me and Fox News is nothing new – it’s a cottage industry. What’s new is that Random House refused to fact check the content with me or Fox News -- that tells you everything you need to know about this book and its agenda."

The book, which is based off interviews with more than 600 people who know or have worked with Ailes, includes several less than savory revelations and paints a portrait of Ailes as a 'volatile' and 'domineering' manager.

Sherman has been the subject of conservative criticism for months now. Anticipating a strong pushback effort from Ailes, Random House has created a website that will serve as a source for pushback against misinformation about Sherman and the book.